The pastel suits and Ferraris are coming back. Universal Pictures is officially reviving Miami Vice with a new film titled Miami Vice ‘85, casting Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler as the iconic detective duo.
Jordan will step into the role of Rico Tubbs, while Butler takes on Sonny Crockett. The film moves away from the 2006 Michael Mann adaptation and instead returns to the flashy, dangerous, and cocaine-fueled world of the original 1980s television series. The title says it all: Miami Vice ‘85 is leaning hard into its era.
Steering the project is Joseph Kosinski, the director behind Top Gun: Maverick and Tron: Legacy. His ability to blend practical action with visual spectacle makes him a natural fit for high-speed boat chases and neon-lit Miami nights. The script comes from Dan Gilroy, the Oscar-nominated writer of Nightcrawler.
Original series creator Michael Mann is also attached as an executive producer, ensuring the project stays true to the DNA that made the show a cultural phenomenon in the first place. Mann previously directed the 2006 film adaptation starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, which took a darker, more contemporary approach. This time, the franchise is doing something.
Unlike the 2006 version, which updated the setting to modern day, Miami Vice ‘85 fully embraces its period roots. The film will capture the excess, the music, the fashion, and the moral ambiguity of Miami during the height of the cocaine trade. Think pastel linen jackets, testarossas, Phil Collins on the soundtrack, and undercover cops who sometimes forget which side of the law they are on.
Jordan and Butler represent a new generation of leading men. Jordan, coming off Creed III and his directorial debut, brings intensity and physicality to Tubbs. Butler, fresh off his Oscar-nominated turn as Elvis Presley and roles in Dune: Part Two and Masters of the Air, has the charisma and brooding edge to embody Crockett.
Filming is scheduled to begin this summer. Kosinski has already confirmed that the production will shoot specifically for IMAX screens, a technique he perfected on Top Gun: Maverick. That means aerial shots of the Florida coastline, high-speed boat chases, and nighttime Miami skylines, all framed for the largest possible canvas.
Universal has set a global release date of August 6, 2027. That puts it firmly in summer blockbuster territory. The studio is clearly betting that nostalgia for the 80s, combined with two of Hollywood’s most bankable young stars, will turn Miami Vice ‘85 into an event.
The question is no longer whether audiences want a new Miami Vice. It is whether Jordan and Butler can make Crockett and Tubbs feel as electric now as they did forty years ago. All signs point to yes.
